Get the latest news & insights

'On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me' ... mobile ordering?

As the holidays near, a few fast casuals are gifting their customers with a faster and easier mobile experience. Pie Five Pizza, HuHot and Penn Station East Coast Subs have recently rolled out or updated their mobile offerings in hopes of enhancing the customer experience, streamlining operations and increasing revenues. Pie Five Pizza Co, for example, has embraced digital ordering with a partnership with Olo, offering guests what it describes as an "innovative online ordering experience." Seamlessly integrated with Olo's Dispatch delivery service platform and Pie Five's Circle of Crust loyalty program, guests can earn points for purchases while enjoying the ease and convenience of ordering through the Pie Five website or the Pie Five app, Clinton Coleman, interim CEO for Rave Restaurant Group, said in the release.

"Pie Five's online ordering experience is the first platform in the fast casual pizza industry to fully integrate a loyalty program and third party delivery options," he said in the release.

Online ordering is available at all company-owned restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Atlanta and franchised markets in North Carolina and Kansas City. A full nationwide rollout is expected in early 2017.

Penn Station adds mobile pay

Penn Station East Coast Subs has updated its app, adding mobile pay, and customers can also buy gift cards and send them through the app.

"Mobile pay and digital gift cards were some of the most requested features for our app," Craig Dunaway, president of Penn Station, said in a company press release. "We're thrilled to launch this update in time for the holiday season so customers can give the gift of amazing food."

Also, for the holidays, customers will receive a free six-inch sub with every $25 gift card purchase through Dec. 31. The reward will go to the customer's loyalty account on the app within seven days of purchase.

HuHot Mongolian Grill reaps benefits from mobile rollout

HuHot Mongolian Grill is reaping the benefits from its six-month-old mobile upgrade. Since rolling out its Paytronix Rewards platform in June, the chain has increased reward program membership by 50 percent and has increased member check size by 10 percent over that of non-members, Monica Minford, digital marking director, HuHot Mongolian Grill, said in a company press release.

"Paytronix gives us access to so much more information than we've ever had before, and this allows us to get much more scientific in our approach to the HuHot Rewards program," she said. "In fact, we are working very closely with Paytronix to set new KPIs for 2017, such as increasing frequency and membership, so that our rewards program penetration is more in line with the industry average."